Researchers at the Society for Neuroscience meeting in New Orleans (Oct 13-17) presented studies showing how stress, no matter its cause, alters brain circuitry in ways that can have long-term effects on mental health.
在近日于新奥尔良召开的神经科学学会（Society for Neuroscience）大会上，研究人员公布的一项最新研究结果显示，压力（不管由何种原因造成）会改变大脑“电路”，而这种变化会对心理健康造成长期影响。
Research by Dipesh Chaudhury of the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York shows that traumatic events appear to cause depression by derailing the brain’s so-called reward system, which normally causes pleasurable feelings whenever we engage in fun activities like spending time with friends. People who have suffered major stress, such as soldiers returning from combat, often report that they no longer find pleasure in these things.
纽约西奈山医学院（Mount Sinai School of Medicine）迪佩什·乔杜里（Dipesh Chaudhury）的研究显示，创伤性事件似乎能通过扰乱大脑的“奖励系统”而引发忧郁。通常，当我们参与有乐趣的活动时，例如与朋友共度时光，该系统会促使机体产生愉悦感。而承受极端压力的个人，如从战场归来的军人，往往报告称无法从这些活动中汲取乐趣。
Mice respond in a similar way to traumatic events, Chaudhury says. And his research shows that this response can be prevented by reducing the activity of certain brain cells involved in the reward system. [Source: NPR, October 15, 2012] A drug causing a similar outcome could eventually be effective in humans.
乔杜里表示，老鼠对创伤性事件的反应机制与人类类似。他的研究显示，通过抑制参与“奖励系统”的某些脑细胞的活动，人们可以阻止此类反应的发生。最终，我们将可以找到一种能在人体中发挥类似效用的药物。
Stress also causes the release of chemicals that impair the function of the prefrontal cortex, home of higher level thinking. When we experience acute stress, these chemicals–including cortisol and norepinephrine–heighten our reactive tendencies by muting our reflective tendencies, leading to everything from anxiety to aggression to depression.
压力还会刺激人体释放一些特定的化学物质，损害前额皮质这个高级思维中心的功能。当我们经历重度精神压力时，这些化学物质——包括皮质醇与去甲肾上腺素——通过抑制我们的思考倾向（reflective tendency）并增强反应倾向（reactive tendency），从而导致焦虑、攻击性增强或抑郁等一系列问题。
One of the drugs that appear to reverse these effects is ketamine (I wrote about it recently here), an anesthetic that has the ability to rejuvenate damaged nerve cells in hours, potentially making it a groundbreaking new type of antidepressant Derivatives of the drug are already in human trials.
克他命（Ketamine）似乎能够逆转这一过程，这种麻醉剂可以在数小时内重新激活受损神经细胞，有潜力成为一种突破性的新型抗抑郁剂。该药物的一些衍生物已经进入人体试验阶段。
The American Psychological Association’s “Stress in America” report provides a useful table, shown below, indicating the effects of stress on your body, your mood, and your behavior.
美国心理学会（TheAmerican Psychological Association）的《美国压力》（Stress in America）报告提供了以下表格，其中列出了压力对人体、情绪以及行为的影响。
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